


You are Special.

by earthtoari



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Autistic Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Ben Hargreeves' Tentacles | Bentacles, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No Incest, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Projecting onto fictional characters go brr, Sibling Bonding, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Vanya Hargreeves-centric, five has adhd, i don't really know what i'm doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28387812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthtoari/pseuds/earthtoari
Summary: Perhaps the most quiet friend group of the seven siblings; Five, Ben, and Vanya comfort each-other in their own equally hectic and horrible lives at the Umbrella Academy.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves, The Hargreeves Family
Comments: 11
Kudos: 73





	1. Target Practice.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is my first work on here so i have to admit, i don't really know what i'm doing lol. i hope you like this though! i really just want the three of them to all be best friends dammit. another thing, i headcanon vanya as autistic ("inspired" by a bunch of posts i saw on tumblr lol) and five as having ADHD, so yes?? we love that. i'll stop talking now, bye bye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reginald requests Vanya's help with Ben's training. It goes ever so horribly wrong.

Vanya Hargreeves wasn’t anything to write home about. A bitter, simple, quiet girl. Always tucked into herself and reserved, completely subdued. Extremely, utterly _ordinary. ___

____

____

Her siblings, on the other hand, were different. Each one of them, from the day they were born, were special. _Superpowers weren’t meant for ordinary people. _Her family, intentionally or not, reminded her of that every single day.__

____

____

Known worldwide as the Umbrella Academy, her six siblings went on missions. They did training every day, alongside their usual studies, and often did personal training with their father to get their powers under control. Some had it easier than others, but nonetheless; Vanya felt terrible for being so left out. Out of place, a liability, unimportant.

This was why Number Seven had happily agreed to helping their father out with her brother’s training one autumn day.

She’d told Five about it shortly after their father had disappeared down the long hallway, skipping steps on the staircase as she excitedly ran upstairs to see him. However, Five’s reaction was nowhere near her own joy.

“Why would you agree to that?!” He groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Vanya, he’s going to get you hurt."

“I can handle myself! It’s not like I'm actually training, I'm just going to help out!” She protested, crossing her arms.

“It’s not that simple. It’s not like some note-taking duty Vanya, its Dad’s twisted game. It’s what he does. He’s gonna rope you in somehow, tie you to what we’re doing and get. you. Hurt. Do you think he really needs you there?”

Vanya recoiled a bit at the words. She opened her mouth to say something, words hanging on the tip of her tongue, before she sharply snapped her jaw shut and turned on her heels to leave. She had gotten a couple steps out the door when Five grabbed her sleeve.

“Vanya, wait-”

Despite the fact that her brother’s voice was soft, (mostly) free of the usual annoyance and short-temperedness, Vanya snatched her arm away and ran back downstairs. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of forgiveness that quickly.

She didn’t want to think about what Five said. He knew better than anyone what their Father might be planning, the two thought alike. However, Five cared about people. He cared far too much for his own good, and their father cared too little than anyone might imagine. Unlike her father, Five cared about _her _, and Five was most definitely right.__

____

____

Vanya sighed softly, shutting her bedroom door behind her. She’d have to wait and see.

\---

“Vanya!?” Ben shouted across the room, surprised.

Seven had just stepped into one of the various training rooms, wearing a white Umbrella Academy t-shirt and black shorts. Grace had given them to her, and Vanya had eagerly taken it as a chance to change out of the uniform she wore daily. She didn’t question what they were for.

“Vanya.” Ben repeated, rushing over to her. He had a clear hint of anxiety in his voice. “What are you wearing? Why are you here?”

“I’m helping father out with training; Your training, I guess. We’re matching.” Vanya replied softly, smiling a bit and motioning to their matching clothes. Well, sorta matching; Ben was wearing a dark hoodie covered in faint blood stains, presumably from missions and training sessions gone wrong. Or _right _, in their fathers eyes. It’s best not to look at it.__

____

____

Number Six looked scared, nervously picking at his sleeves. “Vanny, i don’t-”

The door across the room from them shut with a loud bang, the sound of their fathers footsteps growing louder as he walked in. “Let’s begin, Six.” Ben scurried off, hesitantly stepping onto a small platform in the middle of the room.

“Seven, I would like you to stand here.” Reginald not-so-gently grabbed Vanya’s shoulder, pulling her about a metre away from the platform. She didn’t understand how she could be taking notes or encouraging Ben from this distance, like she expected her job would be. She was too close, wasn’t she in the way? She turned her head to face her father.

“Uh, What am i supposed to do? Watch?”

“You’re part of the target practice.” Reginald responded dully, as if it wasn’t an unusually horrifying thing to subject a child too.

“What?!” Two voices echoed back, Vanya and Ben.

As if on cue, a various amount of dummy-people were brought into the room. They were set around the platform and spread out near the walls, some closer to Vanya than she would like. Some were carried in by people Vanya had never seen before, with strange haircuts and outfits, some by people she had.

“Mom?” She asked timidly, shoulder’s now tense and anxious at the sight of so many people (and the idea that Five had been correct).

Grace smiled, stepping over to the girl after placing one of the creepy dummies on the ground as Reginald instructed.

“It’ll be alright, dear. Just stand right here like your father asked, I promise that you’ll be fine.” She gently rubbed Vanya’s cheek assuringly, walking over to give Ben a soft hug before leaving the room. The room seemed to shrink once she left, making Vanya feel even more on edge than before.

Reginald wasted no time, pulling out a clipboard and climbing into a closed, transparent box in the corner of the room. Bullet proof, as shown by the various indents in the fake glass. Knife proof, Vanya suspected. Small enough to be Spacial-Jump proof, too strong for Super-Strength. Ghost proof, maybe. Rumour proof, possibly. Vanya looked over, turning to face Ben. _Horror proof, Definitely. ___

____

____

Their father began explaining what would happen, his voice coming through a tiny speaker in the ceiling. _“Number Six, I would like you to take out the dummies. However, you need to be careful and precise. Do not hit Number Seven.” _The speaker crackled as their father turned the mic off.__

____

____

The last part sent chills through Vanya’s body, it sounded more like a threat than a warning. Both Six and Seven exchanged worried glances, but Vanya gave a small smile. “I believe in you. Just take deep breaths, okay?” She whispered.

Ben sighed nervously and nodded, lifting his shirt up a tiny bit. Slowly, a single tentacle slid out, creeping along the floor and feeling around for its surroundings. Vanya watched, both in awe and horror, as it wrapped itself around one of the dummies.

Slowly, it squeezed tighter and tighter. The nervous tension made the girl uneasy, watching as this horrifying monster slowly attacked the dummy, tightening around it’s feather insides until it _popped. ___

____

____

A small splattering of red painted itself across Vanya’s cheek, a portion of the puddle pooling underneath the ripped remains of the dummy.

“He put fake blood in it?” Vanya asked softly, eager to wipe the red off of her face. It was fake, right?

Ben didn’t respond, eyes glued to the floor in worry. Six was far too nervous to be carrying such a terrifying monster, far too sweet for the burden inside him. Vanya had figured that out long ago---but she’d never seen it in person.

Another tentacle slid out as the first one moved to it’s next target. Then another, and another. They were so careful, as if they too were afraid of getting hurt.

_“Hurry up, Number Six. You’re falling behind. Your sister can only last so long surrounded by so many bad guys, you need to be faster.” _Reginald’s voice echoed through the room. Vanya resisted the urge to glare at her father, although she doubted she would ever find the courage too in the first place.__

____

____

Ben flinched a bit, but the tentacles sped up a tiny bit more at their father’s command.

“It’s okay, Ben.” Vanya said softly.

Her brother looked as if he was going to cry. “No, you-”

“They can’t actually hurt me. They’re made of cotton.” Vanya said, a little more matter-of-factly than she intended.

Once again, Ben kept his mouth shut as the Horror continued to wrap itself around various dummies. He let out a small grunt as a couple of them burst, even more following. It must be painful for him.

Vanya had barely noticed one of the tentacles sliding along near her feet. She jumped slightly, wincing as it brushed up against her ankle. The girl watched for a moment, unsure of what it was doing. “Uh… Ben?”

Ben looked up this time, eyes glazed and focused as another dummy across the room snapped in half, the red liquid splattering along the wall. Something clicked inside her brother’s mind and he suddenly looked _terrified. ___

____

____

At this point, the fake bloody tentacle had crept it’s way up her outer leg, almost to her torso now. “Ben?” She asked again, trembling as she stared at the creature spiraling around her leg.

_"Focus, Number Six.” _Their father snapped through the speakers.__

____

____

“I-I’m sorry, hold on-” Ben exclaimed, trying his best to concentrate.

The tentacle paid no mind to the horror in both Six and Seven’s eyes as it made its way around Vanya’s stomach. It was eerily cold, something that made her insides turn and her hair stand on end.

Ben mumbled something, cursing under his breath; that reminded her of Five. “I’m trying, i-” Some of the other tentacles slid back towards Ben, disappearing under his shirt, but the one around Vanya’s body didn’t budge.

Vanya whimpered, growing more anxious as the tentacle kept moving. She could feel it slithering along her back, up towards her collarbone. Would it suffocate her? Would it slam her against the wall at the last minute, breaking her bones? Would she snap in half like the other dummies? Was she going to _die _? These thoughts made her heart pound, the poor girl couldn’t help but find her eyes filling with tears.__

____

____

The whole thing became even worse when she felt it. The tentacle, now centimetres away from her neck, _tightened _. It was only slightly, not enough to hurt her, but enough that she yelped softly, feeling oh so frightened.__

____

____

Ben, on the other hand, had clenched his fist’s tight to focus. He couldn’t bear to look away, he couldn’t lose concentration now, not with his sister in some monster’s grip. A monster he was supposed to know how to control. God, he wouldn’t know what to do if he hurt her somehow.

Vanya shut her eyes tightly, tears spilling out over her cheeks, leaving marks where the fake blood had been. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure everyone could hear it. Ben just a few metres away, her father cowering in his little box, her mother and Pogo outside the door, Allison upstairs helping Klaus paint his nails, Diego and Luther doing whatever they did, and Five.

Oh, if only she’d listened to his advice.

Maybe then she wouldn’t have a tentacle slowly tightening around her body, her life completely in its hands. Maybe it wouldn’t be lifting her off the ground, thirsty for her own blood.

She could feel it squeezing her torso, her ribs aching for some room to breath. Her legs felt cold and slimy, her shoelaces dangling in mid-air. “B-Ben…” Vanya stammered, taking deep breaths as she looked at him.

_“Deep breaths, Seven.” _Reginald instructed. Even he sounded slightly uneasy.__

____

____

“No, no, no, Vanya! Just hold on, i’m gonna...” Ben cried, voice trailing off as he stood there, shaking and groaning as he focused.

She felt her body grow numb, her fingertips feeling cold and blue and bruised. She opened her mouth to speak again, but found herself quickly trying to inhale. She was choking. Number Seven couldn’t breath.

What followed was a blur.

Vanya felt the world around her spin, her eyelids closing against her will. She wasn’t ready for this, she didn’t want this to happen. She could hear her heartbeat grow slow, the sound echoing inside her, the sound of Reginald’s booming voice over the speaker and Ben’s shouts fading. She felt like she was slipping, losing her grasp on what was real and fading, falling through the air and-

She landed on her back with a thud, coughing like a maniac the second her eyes snapped open.

The tentacle quickly let go of her, slipping back under Ben’s shirt as he fell to his knees. He clutched his stomach in pain, sighing softly.

Vanya sat up weakly, head pounding, and looked over to see their father’s reaction.

“We’ll continue training in the morning. Good work, you too.” He left the room without a glance.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vanya and ben both need hugs, reginald needs a slap in the face, and grace needs more apreciation <3
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this! the next chapter will be five comforting a very upset vanya and a very tired ben, so stay tuned for that hehe. bye!!


	2. Hugs for Six.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five tries his best to comfort Ben and Vanya after hearing about the aftermath of Number 6's training session. Ben gets a hug, Five is Five, and Vanya has a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for reading chapter one! As i said before, i'm pretty new to writing fan-fiction, so i am incredibly grateful for all the support. Thank you so much, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter hehe.

Number Seven’s mind had been all over the place since she’d toppled to the ground, a fit of coughs and gasps and relieved looks in Ben’s direction.

After she had landed painfully on her back, wheezing and trying to catch her breath, she’d stumbled weakly over to her brother’s side. He’d curled himself up into a ball in the middle of the room, holding Vanya’s hand like a lifeline as he cried out various apologies. Still shaken up (and shaking too, for that matter) about the whole event, she had gone out of her comfort zone and tried her best to comfort him. At one point, Vanya had rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and letting the two of them breath a little.

They needed it, a moment to themselves.

Sometimes the best kind of assurance is letting someone know you’re there for them. Even if that _“there” _is sitting in the middle of a cold training room, surrounded by (hopefully) fake blood and torn up dummies, curled into each other like both of you have never felt a hug before.__

__It wasn’t until she heard her siblings outside the room that she realized it had been a lot longer than a couple minutes._ _

__“Are they okay?” She heard Luther ask._ _

__“Did they get hurt?” Klaus added. He sounded worried, antsy._ _

__“They’re just resting, they had a lot of action during training. It’s alright.” Pogo assured them. Vanya hadn’t realized he’d been there the whole time._ _

__“Bullshit, i’m--Ow!” Diego muttered, interrupted by a jab in the ribs._ _

__“Language!” Someone hissed. Luther, probably._ _

__“What’s Vanya doing in there, anyway?” Allison piped up, trying to peek through the small window in the door. Both Six and Seven winced at the sound of the door handle wiggling._ _

__Vanya felt Ben shrink a little bit, his grip on her hand tightening. Another thing Vanya hadn’t realized; Ben was listening to the conversation too, and could probably see the door better than her. She doubted Ben would want anyone to see him like this, and instinctively wrapped her other arm around him for extra protection._ _

__“She was assisting your father, dears. Nothing unusual.” Grace replied. Vanya could hear her smile through the wall, her mother’s cheerful nature never failing to shine through. Allison stepped away from the door as another pair of footsteps grew louder, ones filled with determination and motive._ _

__“What happened?” Five asked. Everyone replied with the usual jumbled sound, everyone’s voices fighting to be heard over the other. Knowing Five, Vanya could tell he must be rolling his eyes at the sight. She could even picture him, hands in his pockets and waiting for a sensible answer._ _

__Not surprisingly, Klaus was the one to actually get through. He had a way of making everything slightly dramatic._ _

__“Apparently our very own _Vanya _played a big role in the star production of, ‘Something bad happened during Ben’s training! What could it be!’ Of course they won’t tell us!” He exclaimed, half-jokingly pointing an accusatory finger at Pogo and their mother.___ _

____Five had already blinked into the room before Klaus could finish, momentarily reeling back at the sight of the room._ _ _ _

____\---_ _ _ _

____“Wh-” He started, looking around at the red around them. It wasn’t new, he’d seen Ben’s training before, but he couldn’t understand why the two most squeamish and soft siblings would choose this as their resting place._ _ _ _

____“Hi.” Ben drawled, still remaining in his curled up spot. He didn’t want to move._ _ _ _

____“Hey. Wanna talk about what happened?” Five asked, sitting close to them. As usual, his words were insistent on figuring out what happened to the two of them. Ben and Vanya, holding each other like something bad might happen if they let go._ _ _ _

____Neither of them responded right away, even as Five shot confused and worried glances at the two of them._ _ _ _

____“Vanya?” He asked, looking over at her._ _ _ _

____Vanya wasn’t sure how to explain. She bit her tongue, looking down at her hands for a moment. Eventually she shook her head, remembering the pain that was currently shooting through her back. In all honesty, she hadn’t quite explained how painful her landing really was. She’d only mumbled that she was fine before tending to Ben, not wanting to focus on herself. That was for another time._ _ _ _

____Five was still eager to get any kind of response, looking back at Ben._ _ _ _

____The smaller brother managed to lift his head up, briefly glanced over to see if the rest of their siblings had left. Call him rude, but he was a little relieved to see Grace ushering them along the hallway. Ben took a deep breath before continuing._ _ _ _

____“I-I messed up, Five. I couldn’t… Vanya, i-...” He stammered, shoulders sulking. He looked and felt helpless, he hated the fact that something could have happened to Vanya. _That would be your fault, Ben. You did that. _____ _ _

______Ben shut his eyes, trying to erase the thoughts from his mind. Vanya, lifted slightly off the ground, looking completely and utterly terrified. Vanya, his sister, that he--The Horror--could have crushed in an instant._ _ _ _ _ _

______Vanya, who was sitting right next to him. Her arm still wrapped around him and her other holding his hand tightly, assuring him that she was there. That she was _okay. _____ _ _ _ _

________“Do you want to go back to my room? You can lay down there for a little bit. Beats sitting in here, in my opinion.” Five suggested._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ben looked over at Vanya, who seemed to agree that a room draped in destroyed, bloody dummies wasn’t the best place to sit. She nodded quietly, and Ben looked back up at Five._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He held out his hand, which Ben took awkwardly. He felt sick as he stood up, feeling off balance and faint. This was more apparent when he basically shoved his shoulder into Vanya’s, stumbling for a moment. “Ah, lets…. lets maybe *not* spacial jump there this time.” Ben noted, finding the energy for a small, sheepish smile as his sister helped him regain his balance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Not in your current state.” Vanya teased, smiling shyly. She stood up quietly, fidgeting with her sleeves as she watched._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Walking it is then. Would you mind if I grab us something to eat from the kitchen? Sandwiches, maybe?” Five remarked, leading the two out of the room as he stuck his hands in his pockets._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I’d probably puke.” Ben groaned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You can starve, then.” Five threw his hands up in the air sarcastically, earning a laugh from Vanya. They are okay, he assured himself silently. He didn’t need to know what happened as long as they were fine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Vanya took one last look at the room before closing the door, eager to leave the memories behind. For now, her and her brothers would be content with not talking about it. She wouldn’t have to talk about her possible injuries for a little while._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She had the two of them, she didn’t need anything else._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vanya needs a hug. She will get one in a bit, but not before i make her suffer silently. I have some big ideas for the three of them and i'm very excited! Stay tuned loves <3


	3. Heart to Hearts (and Head to Wood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shut up.” She snapped. It was such an unusual thing for her to say, so full of anger and and drunk confidence, that her brother actually felt the weight of her words for once.
> 
> Diego didn’t have time to respond before Number Seven was fainting, collapsing weakly into her brother’s arms.
> 
> OR
> 
> Five rambles, Ben laughs and Vanya faints in the middle of the hallway.

Vanya and Ben collapsed on Five's bed the moment they reached his room. 

"I’m going to go get you guys some food." Five declared, tidying up some of the papers scattered around his floor and desk. They we're all covered in numbers and symbols, Vanya was too out of it to wonder what they were for.

“Not hungry.” Ben said softly, his voice muffled. He hadn’t moved since he flopped face-first onto Fives blankets.

I’ll come with you, Five, you-” Vanya began.

“Nope. _You_ -” Five stuck an accusatory finger in Vanya’s direction. “-Are just as tired as he is.” Any normal person would have felt threatened by his tone of voice, but Vanya simply smiled. He knew her all too well.

“Fine. Get yourself some water while you’re down there, though! You’ve been drinking too much coffee. Stunts your growth. You’re gonna be, like, 5’2” for your whole life.” She noted.

“Har har. I’ll still be taller than you.” Five smirked. With that, he was gone from the room with a flash of light.

With that, Seven gave herself time to relax. Vanya pulled her legs up, crossing them gently. She tried to ignore the ache the small movement caused.

Ben looked up from his spot on the bed, rolling over to sit next to Vanya. He opened his mouth, looking like he had a million things on his mind.

“Ben, I know you’re going to apologize. Again.” She said softly, looking over at him. Her voice was sincere and genuine, she really didn’t want him to worry so much. 

“Vanya, i-i could have hurt you, like, really bad. I could have killed you, Van, how are you so… so quick? To forgive me? You should be angry and-”

“Why would i be angry at you? Ben, that’s stupid. You’re not The Horror.” She added the last part a little hesitantly. None of them ever used their superhero nicknames with each other. Another pointless thing their Dad made for them. Still, her sweet Ben wasn’t some cold-blooded, killer monster.

Ben seemed to recoil slightly at the words. He was silent for a moment before he let out a deep breath, one Vanya guessed he’d been holding for a while.

“And I didn't hurt you?” He asked softly. Six sounded ever so helpless.

Vanya hesitated to respond. The slight throbbing in her head and the pain sparking through her shoulders, not to mention the circle-shaped marks on her legs and wrists where the tentacle had held her tightest, made it _really_ hard to not spill the truth.

“Ben-”

Before she could fully say anything, Five jumped back into the room. He had a coffee cup in his hands, setting it on his desk before handing a plate to Vanya. A fluffernutter sandwich. The stupid little snack made Vanya grin. Still, she looked up at her teleporting brother with a smirk.

“I seem to remember someone reminding you to get water, not coffee.”

“Hmm. Wonder who that could have been.”

Ben laughed at their playful banter and everything felt alright again.

\---

The three of them talked for a little while. Although, it was mostly Five rambling about some physics related stuff, quantum leaps and time travel and stuff with complicated names neither Six or Seven would remember well. Vanya didn’t eat much of her sandwich, but she didn’t feel very hungry anyway.

“What happens if you find yourself from the past?” Ben asked. Five had been talking about time travel, his newest obsession.

“Wouldn’t you cease to exist or something? Like the current version of yourself?” Vanya guessed

.“Only if you mess up, and they see you. Time travel creates new timelines on its own anyways, but I would assume it would cause a lot of complications.” Five responded, making a quick note on an already mostly-filled piece of paper. He’d propped himself up in his chair.

Vanya was hunched over on the floor, a spot she’d randomly decided to claim. It helped her feel more grounded sometimes, literally and figuratively, and Ben and Five didn’t mind. 

Quite suddenly, the door opened with a creak. Vanya scrambled backwards, away from the door and its loud creaking. Diego stepped inside, peeking his head around the corner. “Sorry.” He said awkwardly, before looking over at Ben.

“You left your jacket, and-” Diego held out Ben’s leather hoodie, the one covered in red stains. Vanya didn’t remember when he took it off.

Ben quickly clambered to his feet, basically leaping off the bed to grab the jacket from Diego’s hands. Diego raised his eyebrows a little bit. “Hey, relax. I’m not judging or anything.” He said, a little softer than his usual teasing, not that this was considered teasing. Two had a soft spot for Ben.

The jacket seemed to remind Ben of all that had happened that day. Even after Vanya stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, the smallest brother was insistent on getting some rest.

Still, Five offered to bring it back to Ben’s room, same with Diego and Vanya, but Ben was content with rushing off by himself. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that both Vanya and Diego would walk Ben back to his room. They should all be getting ready for dinner by now anyway. As much as Vanya would have liked to sit with her brothers the rest of the night, she gave a small wave in Fives direction and left the room.

\---

The walk was rather... odd. Both Diego and Vanya felt the same awkwardness they could imagine a third wheel feeling. Ben was close with both of them, yet Diego and Vanya had never really gotten along. It felt like they barely knew each other, never even making bitter small talk or random chit chat. Nothing. Ben wasn’t in any mood to begin a conversation, so they walked in silence.

That is, until Grace walked over to them from around the corner. Vanya guessed Diego would walk off with her, the two were close, but it was Ben who their mother approached.

“Ben, dear! There you are. I wanted to make sure you were alright! You never came to see me for first aid.” The woman smiled. Ben looked over to Vanya for support. 

She nodded, tilting her head towards their mother. She didn’t want Ben to have any cuts or scrapes, and their mother was always careful with them. Nothing bad could happen, and she quietly watched Ben walk off into their mother's little first aid room.

However, Vanya forgot how insanely uncomfortable the silence made her. Diego, walking by her side with his hands in his pockets, made her feel nervous. She felt so intimidated, small, ordinary. The opposite of how she felt with Five and Ben, Vanya now felt out of place.

There wasn’t any use for small talk. Vanya figured nothing else would happen, getting fully lost in her own mind.

Until Diego spoke. She didn’t even process what he said, looking up at him in confusion.

“Sorry?”

“You just walked past your room.” He deadpanned, gesturing behind them.

Vanya turned around, noticing the familiar sight of her bedroom door a couple metres behind her. She was probably closer to Diego’s room at this point. Oops.

“Sorry.” She repeated, looking down sheepishly.

“It’s okay.” Diego hummed. That was probably the closest thing Vanya had ever gotten to a ‘don’t worry about it’ from anyone other than Five and Ben.

She was about to turn around, once again expecting their conversation to be over, when Diego continued.

“Why were you there? During Ben’s training?”

The question caught her off guard, hitting her like a missile. “I- Uh.” Vanya swallowed hard. “Dad asked me to help him out, it wasn’t a big deal-”

“Certainly seemed like it. You and Ben were clinging onto each other for dear life back there. Normally he runs off right away.”

“I just wanted to…”

Diego tilted his head, looking at her with an expression that made Vanya want to cry. He couldn’t understand her, couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t explain, and it made her angry. She would never be more than ordinary in his eyes, would she?

“You what? It’s not going to hurt. Spit it out.” Bold words coming from someone with a stutter, Vanya noted.

Vanya's shoulders felt heavy. She was so used to them being so tense, a side effect from her subdued and anxious nature, but she couldn’t ignore the pain coursing through them any longer. She winced softly as she tried her best to lower them to a normal height. It was then when she remembered the pulsing in her head, and the tingling feeling in her hands. She felt so weak, so small, and in her dreamy anger, she wanted Diego to _stop. talking._

“Shut up.” She snapped, slurring her words slightly. It was such an unusual thing for her to say, so full of anger and sleepiness that her brother actually felt the weight of her words for once. 

Diego didn’t have time to respond before Number Seven was fainting, collapsing weakly into her brother’s arms.

She only had time to hear Number Two calling her name before she fell unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of the chapter title, let's just assume that the walls/floor is wood. 
> 
> don't worry, Vanya will get hugs next chapter! Also, let me know if Diego seems in character or not? i know Vanya is probably the last person he would ask, but i gotta add the angst haha. Anyways, i really just wanted to make Vanny faint, so i did.


	4. Shadows.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya has a nightmare. It's not very fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't originally planning on making sweet baby child Vanya have a nightmare, but here we are. This isn't relevant to the story, so you can feel free to skip to the next chapter if you aren't interested :)

Vanya awoke on a stage.

She sat up with a start, eyes taking in the unfamiliar sight around her. Slowly, she stood up, surprised to find her eyes quick to adjust to the stage's bright lights. 

She walked closer to the centre, peering down at her uniform for a moment. It was wrinkled, old, and her blazer sleeves had been stained with red. She really hoped it was paint.

“Hello?” She called out. Vanya wasn’t sure why exactly, but something was pulling her to speak. Someone, maybe.

She felt shivers down her spine the second the words left her mouth, a gust of cold wind brushing her hair along her back. The girl tried to tell herself it was just the echo of her voice, travelling along the audience.

That was another problem, she couldn’t quite tell if there *was* an audience. Vanya mechanically walked to the front of the stage, trying to peer down into the row in front of her.

it didn’t seem like an audience. 

The rows were lined with ashes. Some with splatters of blood, more with small pieces of teared up fabric. It reminded her of the dummies from Ben's training, something she wasn’t ready to think about. Vanya scrambled backwards, not wanting the image to remain in her mind any longer than it had too.

Suddenly, her back hit something, and a large hand grabbed at her collar. It spun her around rather forcefully, and she found herself staring up at something much more creepy than her so-called audience. From her spot on the ground, it loomed over her like a skyscraper.

It was the shape of a man, yes. Big, tall and in-humanely muscular. But that didn’t make it human. The figure was pitch black, so dark and dim that Vanya simply had to imagine where its shoulders ended and its arms began. The only thing that made it different from a shadow was its bright red eyes, glowing as they stared daggers into her.

“You did this.” It rasped. “You did this to all of us.”

Behind it, more black shadow figures appeared. One more, than two, until there were five of them in total. They all had those glowing eyes, the ones staring so deeply into her soul she was sure they couldn’t be real. Some had more glowing marks, scars or red splatters, that Vanya didn’t want to look at.

“I'm dreaming.” she whispered to herself. “You aren’t real and I'm dreaming.”

The figures were all different sizes, human shaped. One a tall, lanky figure, curly pitch black hair bouncing at the sides of its pitch black face. There were marks on his hands, words Vanya couldn’t read. It was clearly troubled, hunched over as if it were carrying the burden of a thousand other shadow souls with it. Another, a more feminine figure, with a glowing red scar where its neck would be. It seemed a little sadder than the rest. To the left of the first figure, one held a small, red dagger in its hand. It didn’t seem friendly. Vanya tried not to look at the scar on its face. The smallest one, standing farther behind them all and looking almost her height, was staring with such a familiar glare that Vanya couldn’t help but shrink a little.

“I want to go home. I didn’t do anything.” Vanya crumbled, still trying to crawl backwards. 

The figures walked closer, some reaching their hands out. Vanya felt one of her elbows give way, not helping as she . “Stop it, please. Who  _ are _ you?!”

“Why’d you do it, Seven?” one drawled. Their voice was echoed, seeming to spin around her in its fury. She couldn’t tell which one of them said it.

“I didn’t do anything! I didn’t want this!” Vanya responded, snapping at the figure. “I want to wake up!”

She could barely tell what was happening as the figures swirled around, surrounding her. Vanya gave up on her struggle to get away, moving her hands to cover her ears. 

“Stop!” she cried, tucking her head down.

A hand touched her face gently, pulling her back to the reality of it all. It was the smallest one, one with far too many blood stains on its black uniform to be normal.

“You brought this on yourself, didn’t you?” It grinned. Vanya couldn’t even open her mouth to scream when it plummeted its hand through her heart.


	5. Oops.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She could hear him on the stairs, and her panic rose. Every step felt like torture.
> 
> Next to her, she could still see out the kitchen window. A small thing, level with the ground, but she could see the sky from her angle. God, the stars didn’t look as pretty now. They seemed to taunt her, teasing her for ever thinking this was a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on my insanely irrational childhood fear of getting water in the middle of the night.

Vanya sat up, gasping for air. She quickly tried to focus on regaining her breaths, making them her own. calmer, more contained.

_ Deep breath in. _

_ Deep breath out. _

Her room was all too small, never good for anxiety. All too cramped, all too weak. Thankfully, that didn’t stop her from placing her hands on the back of her neck for comfort. 

She was safe. She was in her room, alone, at the academy. There was nothing here to hurt her.

She looked down at her toes, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She must have thrashed around a little in her sleep, her blankets were all jumbled and messy. Vaguely, at the end of her bed, she was sure she could see something. Vanya squinted, confused.

_ It was Ben. He’d come to make sure she was okay. _

There was another figure on the floor. _ and Five. _

There was one last boy sitting in her chair.  _ and... Diego? _

Ben had his arm draped over her blankets, resting his head on it as he slept.

Five was leaning against her dresser, a position even Vanya found uncomfortable. He too was asleep, although she felt bad for the possible discomfort that would cause him in the morning.

Diego, the most surprising visitor, was slumped over in her chair. He had his elbow on her desk, facing her. it took her a moment to realize he was asleep too. God, how long had she been out? 

Vanya knew it was bad to look at the time when you want to go to bed, but she couldn’t help it. 

_ 3:27 am. _

Vanya looked around again, slowly remembering what had happened before her terrible nightmare. She had snapped at Diego, feeling so weak and tired, like her legs were going to give way. Maybe they had given way? 

_ ‘Dammit. I must have fainted _ .’ she thought, knowing how much her brothers would have worried.

Vanya slumped back against her pillow, looking over Diego’s head to stare out the window. The blinds were open a crack, something she usually did to calm her nerves at night, and she silently thanked whoever had done it for her. Vanya could see the stars, the night sky shining through like an oil painting.

It made her smile. The stars were elegant and beautiful, so soft and sparkling. 

However, it wasn’t enough to make her feel content right now. She slipped her feet out of her blanket carefully, not wanting to wake Ben, and got up. She knelt down to peer under her bed, where a little box acted as a makeshift bed-side table. Vanya sighed softly as she pulled the tiny, orange container out of its spot.

She could usually swallow her pills dry. It wasn’t hard for her. But tonight, most likely the result of fainting or Ben’s training (or both), she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it without coughing. Standing up, Vanya made her mind up. She was going to perform a risky adventure, one she’d actually never done alone.

She was going to the kitchen. At 3:30 am. To get some water.

\----------------------

Vanya had just stepped outside her bedroom, into the cold hallway with her pills tucked neatly in her pocket, when she wondered if she would regret her mission.

She wouldn’t, she assured herself. Her siblings went on literal missions, fighting criminals and saving the world. If Number Seven couldn’t get herself a small glass of water, what’s the point?   
  


So, Vanya continued her way along the hallway. The floor creaked softly beneath her feet, luckily not enough to wake anyone. Still, she winced at every noise they made, trying her best to step lightly.

Surprisingly, Vanya made it to the kitchen without any issues. She set her pills on the counter, grabbing a cup and turning the tap on as quietly as possible. It would be muffled through the walls, but better safe than sorry.

Vanya had just swallowed her pill when she heard a noise. She gulped, setting her cup down gently on the table. She heard the noise again, then another, and another.

_ Footsteps _ .

_ Her father’s footsteps. _

Vanya had never seen her Father in the kitchen. Grace or Pogo always brought him his meals, he had no need to come downstairs to snack at  _ 3:30 in the morning. _

In a panic, Vanya found herself ducking under the table. Was he looking for her? She wasn’t supposed to be awake, let alone in the kitchen at a time like this!

She could hear him on the stairs, and her panic rose. Every step felt like torture.

Next to her, she could still see out the kitchen window. A small thing, level with the ground, but she could see the sky from her angle. God, the stars didn’t look as pretty now. They seemed to taunt her, teasing her for ever thinking this was a good idea.

A soft, warping sound behind her made her flinch. She turned, relieved to see Five appear from his flash of light. She quickly snatched his ankle into her grasp, pulling on it to force him to duck down here with her. 

Five instantly understood why she looked so nervous, nodding. He held his hand out, prepared to jump the two of them out of here.

Vanya was never one to enjoy special jumping. It felt like her body deconstructed, fizzling into little sparkles before assembling itself together somewhere else. However, with her father so close, she had no choice. She took his hand, closing her eyes and letting herself get whisked away.

Reginald had just entered the room, flicking the lights on a millisecond after the two blinked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm too tired to fully edit this right now, so here's this? i don't like this chapter as much but oh well.


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